Title
Directing staff of the Fair Housing Workgroup to develop a Fair Housing Strategic Plan.
Body
WHEREAS, the City Council adopted Resolution 17-994 creating a Fair Housing Workgroup to make policy and budget recommends to the Mayor, Housing and Redevelopment Authority and City Council with the goal of eliminating housing disparities, lowering barriers to affordable housing, and ensuring access to economic opportunity in the City of Saint Paul; and
WHEREAS, the City of Saint Paul is committed to furthering fair housing, housing choice, and access to economic opportunity and has a longstanding practice of coordinating investments to achieve these goals; and
WHEREAS, decent, safe and stable housing are the bedrock upon which individuals, families, and a community can thrive; and
WHEREAS, neighborhoods are shaped by access to transit, commercial corridors, parks and recreation, libraries, quality roads, and emergency services;
WHEREAS, in order to remove barriers to education, health, safety, employment and housing opportunities based on race, the City of St. Paul is committed to developing equitable policies through inclusive and thoughtful decision making regarding the allocation of resources toward city projects, programs and the provision of city services; and
WHEREAS, the City of Saint Paul, together with regional city, county, and community partners, has undertaken an extensive analysis of housing discrimination and fair housing issues, and provided recommended strategies to address those concerns in the completed Addendum to the 2014 Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing (AAI); and
WHEREAS, the AAI provides guidelines and recommendations to achieving a balanced approach to fair housing and access to opportunity which is currently being evaluated for implementation within the City of Saint Paul; and
WHEREAS, the City of Saint Paul's Comprehensive Plan's Housing Chapter strongly supports the preservation of existing and development of new affordable housing within the City of Saint Paul; and
WHEREAS, under Resolution 10-935, for the years 2011-2020, the City of Saint Paul has agreed to work toward the goal of providing 2,625 affordable housing units for households earning less than or equal to 60 percent of the area median income, as a condition of its participation in Metropolitan Council’s Livable Communities Program; now, therefore be it
RESOLVED, that the Fair Housing Workgroup will develop a strategic plan including policy and budget recommendations with the goal to eliminate housing disparities, lower barriers to affordable housing, and ensure access to economic opportunity in the City of Saint Paul; and be it
RESOLVED, that the Fair Housing Workgroup will, at a minimum:
1. Engage renters, landlords, housing partners and other stakeholders for input and advice via public meetings and regular consultations;
2. Conduct a housing inventory of Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing buildings at risk of displacing tenants and proactively protect these assets;
3. Collaborate with the Department of Safety and Inspections to ensure that the Fire Certificate of Occupancy program is supporting and growing safe and high quality housing, equitably across the City.
4. Expand the Human Rights and Equal Employment Opportunity (HREEO) fair housing training program for landlords, property managers, realtors, homebuyers, tenants, and protected classes;
5. Create a comprehensive Saint Paul Fair Housing web portal to inform the public of the city and its stakeholder’s Fair Housing work;
6. Continue to research and work with housing partners on strategies to further Fair Housing goals such as the 4(d) tax policy, improved tenant protections, Tenant Remedies Actions, Advance Notice of Sale policy, gentrification studies, just cause eviction, non-discrimination policies, and others;
7. Monitor effectiveness of Rental Rehabilitation Loan Program and suggest adjustments to the program, as needed;
8. Research and support alternative affordable homeownership options such as limited equity cooperatives, Land Trusts, cluster housing, manufactured housing, tiny home communities;
9. Support the continuation of the Commercial Vitality Zone fund which invests in neighborhood commercial districts to promote vitality, growth and equity.
10. Continue to work with the Saint Paul Public Housing Agency to further the effective use of Section 8 vouchers and project-based housing; and
11. Evaluate the need for a formal position or prescribed role in the City of Saint Paul specializing in the proactive work of eliminating Fair Housing barriers, collaborating in the existing work around reducing the number of the unsheltered homeless in Ramsey County, coordinating the work of housing advocates and stakeholders, and generating Fair Housing policies; and be it further
RESOLVED, that the staff of the Fair Housing Workgroup will report back to the City Council on March 28, 2018 with progress on the above listed goals and to present the Fair Housing Strategic Plan; and be it finally
RESOLVED, that the staff of the Fair Housing Workgroup will prepare a budget proposal to support the Fair Housing Strategic Plan.